8 SIMI “terrorists” escape from Bhopal jail

Bhopal: Eight alleged terrorists of the banned students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) killed a guard and managed to escape from the Central Jail here last night.

According to available information, the alleged terrorists – Amzad, Zakir Hussain Sadiq, Mehboob, Majid, Khalid Ahmad, Mujeeb Sheikh, Mohd. Aqueel, and Khilchi – ilodged in Central jail here escaped from the B-block by slitting the throat of head constable Ramashankar and jumping the wall. They used their bedsheets to form a rope.

According to available information the “terrorists” are at large. Questions arise: Was there only one head constable on guard duty. What about multiple rings of security for such prisoners. The state government and the authorities have a lot to answer.

In January 2013, six activists of SIMI along with another under-trial (including Zakir, Mehboob and Azad, who escaped from Bhopal jail last night) had escaped from the Khandwa district jail by digging a hole in a bathroom wall and stabbing two policemen on mobile duty that night.

While fleeing from the Khandwa jail, the SIMI activists had stabbed and injured two policemen on mobile duty Lokesh Hirwa and Suresh Tiwari. They had taken away their motor cycle and loaded rifles. While the SIMI activists were absconding, the police had caught the other undertrial Abid Mirza.

Those who had escaped from Khandwa were Abu Fazal, Ejajuddin, Amjad, Zakir, Mehbob alias Guddu and Aslam. Four of these – Abu Fazal, Ejajuddin, Mehboob alias Guddu and Aslam were arrested by the Madhya Pradesh Anti-terrorist Squad (ATS) from Bhopal and Jabalpur in June 2011. Abu Fazal, who was leading a module of Indian Mujahideen, and the others arrested along with him were wanted in the Ahmedabad serial bomb blast case and also for crimes committed in Madhya Pradesh, including the killing of a police constable Sitaram Yadav and two civilians at Khandwa in 2009. At the time of their arrest in 2011, they were allegedly planning a terror attack or the assassination some VIP.

According to the police, Abu Faisal along with a few others among these were linked with Tehreek-e-Taliban, a terror group operating in Pakistan.

In December 2013 five of these terrorists were nabbed. Within a week of the arrest these SIMI activists, including Abu Faizal, the Anti terrorist squad and counter terrorsist group of Madhya Pradesh Police had arrested from Ujjain four more persons connected with the SIMI network. Police had seized from their possession 2 dozen “ready to use” prime bombs, more than 900 gelatin sticks, about 600 detonators, and a pipe bomb. Those arrested from Ujjain are in the 25 to 35 age group.